NLL

Calgary Takes Mini-Game, Series from Edmonton

from NLL.com's Scott Zerr

Calgary lost Game 2 of the West
Division Final on Friday night in Edmonton 15-13, but came back
after the short break to take a 2-1 in the tie-breaking mini-game
afterwards to advance to next week's Champions Cup final.
(Photo via NLL.com)

The National Lacrosse League's West Division Final came down to
a bonus mini-game and the Calgary Roughnecks survived to make their
way to the Champion's Cup Finals.

With the two-game series tied at one win apiece, the Roughnecks
topped the Edmonton Rush 2-1 in the mini-game to take the West
banner before a season-high crowd of 9,120 at Rexall Place in
Edmonton. The Roughnecks, who have captured the Champion's Cup in
2004 and 2009, will meet the winner of the East Division Final
between two-time defending league champion Rochester and
Buffalo.

Calgary's Shawn Evans scored twice in the opening three minutes
of the mini-game, first sending a long-range bounce shot past Rush
goalie Aaron Bold, and then outmuscling defender John Lafontaine
towards the net and beating the netminder. The Rush finally got
some offense in the mini-game as Zack Greer gunned a shot behind
Calgary's Mike Poulin with 1:39 to go, but it wasn't enough. Poulin
managed nine saves in the clinching bonus period to preserve the
stunning victory.

"I'm just really proud of the way we responded," said Poulin.
"We let the first half (of Game 2) slip away from us but we showed
a lot character in the last 40 minutes to win the West.

"We showed a lot of character to get back to the game plan. Hats
off to the Rush, they have to be very proud of their effort but
we'll take it."

Edmonton had a glorious chance to tie the mini-game in the dying
seconds but Poulin, who was yanked for a short stint earlier in the
night, made a tremendous stop on the Rush's Robert Church.

"That play was exactly what we wanted but Poulin made the save,"
said Rush GM/head coach Derek Keenan. "I thought we played very
well in the 10-minute game and we had ample chances to win it. It's
just very tough to swallow right now."

The Rush, who cruised through the regular season with a
league-best 16-2 record, set the stage for the deciding 10-minute
tiebreaker by outlasting the Roughnecks 15-13 in Game 2 of West
Final. Edmonton led by as many as nine early in the second quarter
before Calgary turned up the pressure and dominated the second
half.

Evans, who has consistently been a thorn in the side of the Rush
for his scoring prowess and hard-edged play, pinned the win on the
Roughnecks' team togetherness.

"We never quit. We stuck together and now we're headed to the
championship. It feels good," said Evans, who finished second in
league scoring during the regular season with 105
points. "We're going to rest up and enjoy the moment. It's
been tight games all year (against Buffalo and Rochester) and it's
going to be a good series no matter who we play."

Game 2 of the series opened with the Rush torching the
Roughnecks with a offensive outburst. Leading 3-2, the Rush then
scored five goals in only 90 seconds, setting an NLL record for the
fastest five goals in the league's 28-year history.

Mark Matthews, with his second goal of the opening quarter,
began the incredible stretch as he powered through Calgary defender
Karsen Leung and beat Poulin as he was being dragged to the
turf. Just 26 seconds later, Ryan Dilks led a 3-0 breakout for
Edmonton and buried his shot.

Jarrett Davis fired home a shot 22 seconds after that, and John
Lafontaine made it 7-2 just 36 later when he scored on the second
breakaway pass of the quarter from Bold. And only six seconds after
that goal, Zack Greer made it 8-2 with his second of the opening
frame- a goal which also tied the Edmonton team record for most
goals in a single quarter of play.